User blog:BeastMan14/Review: "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" Is An Instant Classic
Once in a blue moon, a film comes along that totally changes the game for animation. Akira. Toy Story. The Lego Movie. And now, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is another addition to that pantheon of greatness. Gorgeously animated with an excellent cast and a brilliant script full of heart, humor, and a clear affection for the Spider-Man mythos, Spiderverse is not only the best superhero film of the year, but potentially the best film of the year, period. The Cast A crucial aspect of any animated film is a strong cast of voice actors, and Spiderverse more than delivers. As protagonist Miles Morales, Shameik Moore gives a breakout performance, embodying the young hero with a perfect mixture of youthful awkwardness and dry wit, alongside absolutely crushing some of the film's most heartrending moments. Opposite him is Jake Johnson, who manages to find his own take on Peter Parker that doesn't feel like a rehash. Johnson's Peter is cynical, somewhat bumbling, and lacks the same confidence that we've seen from the likes of Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland, but still manages to nail what's made the character so special. Accompanying the duo on their adventure is a variety of alternate Spider-Man, who don't quite take up as much screentime but manage to each feel like fleshed-out characters with the work they're given. Hailee Steinfeld's Spider-Gwen is tough, free-spirited, but there are scenes of emotional depth and anger that make her feel more competent than either of the main duo, leaving me excited to see where the announced solo film for her will go. Perhaps the most surprising work is from Nicholas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, who perfectly embodies old-school pulp heroes like Humphrey Bogart with a mixture of comedic seriousness and one-liners, while John Mulaney and Kimiko Klenn give Spider-Ham, an homage to Looney Tunes-style characters, and Peni Parker, a riff on mecha anime, several moments of unexpected heart that succeed in making what could've been one-note characters into lovable heroes in their own right. The true mark of a great superhero film is the quality of it's villains, and Spiderverse has those in spades. It's hard to believe that anyone can match Vincent D'Onofrio's iconic take on Wilson Fisk, but Liev Schreiber comes close, playing a Kingpin full of rage, menace, and moments of sympathy that him a deeply compelling force to watch. For lackies, the standout is Kathryn Hahn's Doctor Liv, who fully hams it up as a mad scientist doubling as Fisk's most dangerous subordinate. Rounding out the supporting cast is Bryan Tyree Henry and Mahershala Ali as Miles's father and uncle, respectively, who do brilliant, understated work, selling themselves as men who have lived a lifetime of rough situations and unspoken regrets, and the films's strongest moments are the quiet interactions between them and Miles, where they do their best to impart wisdom even they aren't confident in. It's yet another example of great work from two of the best up-and-coming black actors in Hollywood. Spiderverse is a rare example of an a film with an all-star cast that not only gives each of it's stars something fun to work with, but also never gives anyone too much or too little to do, making it perfectly well-rounded and well-acted. Score: 5 out of 5 The Story Partially written by Phil Lord, one half of the iconic Lord and Miller duo behind films like The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, and the criminally underrated Clone High (of which there is a delightful reference to in this), Spiderverse's script continues a seemingly endless streak of successes from him, working as both a love letter to the greater history of Spider-Man and an excellent film in it's own right. The dialogue is not only witty and clever, but feels real in a way that's hard to nail in comedy. Every character has a clear voice with their own sense of humor and personality behind it (a particular highlight being Noir's dead-on imitation of 30's noir stoicism), and every interaction feels like a natural, if somewhat goofy or dramatic, conversation. The actual plot itself, a mixture of the origin story of Miles as written by Brian Micheal Bendis and the Spider-Verse event written by Dan Slott and Oliver Coipel, is one of the strongest superhero film tales in a year full of them, paying homage to it's source material while often veering off into unexpected, hard-hitting, and surprisingly emotional directions. Several sequences of this film made me openly gasp in the theater, and I can count at least two that almost brought me to tears. Lord's work here is another example of what he can accomplish when left unrestrained by executive meddling, making it all the more frustrating that we'll never get to see his and Miller's take on Solo or The Flash. Score: 5 out of 5 The Direction Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, who also co-wrote the script, Spiderverse is the first comic-book film since Scott Pilgrim vs the World with a visual palette that truly makes it look a comic book. The film is beautifully animated to look like it stepped right off the page, blending an anamorphic style with more tradition forms of 2D animation like black and white, Looney Tunes, and 90's anime in a subtle fashion that never overwhelms the audience, instead totally engrossing the audience from the first second. It's the rare film that I wished I had seen in 3D, which are words I'd never thought I'd get to type, due to the sheer scale and small visual touches (a particular favorite is a character getting hit in the face with a bagel with a giant BAGEL! sound effect or Spider-Ham running with the old-school blur effect) within the film. The film's music, composed by Daniel Pemberton and featuring original music from the likes of Post Malone, Swae Lee, and Nicki Minaj, is excellent as well, homaging the old-school Spider-Man themes while perfectly setting it's own style, with the only real complaint being that the original songs at times felt invasive, either not fully matching the scene or overriding it when a silence would've been better off, but it's a small complaint when each song is catchy and memorable. Score: 5 out of 5 Final Verdict Watching Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse was watching cinematic history in the making, as a new bar for animation has been set. A beautiful, heartfelt, enthralling film like this only comes along once in a very long while, so be sure to see it on the biggest screen you can. Score: 100% Potential Ballot Spots: *Best Picture *Best Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman *Best Limited Performance, Male: Liev Schrieber *Best Limited Performance, Male: Mahershala Ali *Best Adapted Screenplay *Best Animated Feature *Best Original Score *Best Original Song: Sunflower by Post Malone and Swae Lee Category:Blog posts Category:Reviews Category:2018 Reviews